This invention relates to a pendulum rod immobilizing device for a pendulum clock and more particularly to an improved pendulum rod immobilizing device for retaining the pendulum rod of a clock during storage or transport of the clock.
2. Description of the Prior Art Pendulum clocks which use the free swinging motion of a pendulum as a time standard are universally known. In recent years, moreover, there have been manufactured and sold high-precision quartz clocks employing quartz oscillators which are fitted with ornamental pendulums. In these pendulum clocks, there is provided a pendulum rod suspended vertically from the clock movement. Being relatively large with respect to the clock movement, the pendulum rod is apt to strike against neighboring parts of the clock during storage or transport with enough force to break or put them out of order.
Conventionally this problem has been coped with by restraining and fixing the pendulum rod during packing through the use of a resilient member or material such as a clamp, rubber, sponge or foamed styrol so as to prevent the movement of the pendulum rod during transport.
This conventional method of immobilizing the pendulum rod is, however, disadvantageous in that it requires the provision of a separate fastening clamp or resilient material and therefore leads to an increase in the number of components involved and, even more importantly, to an increase in the number of fabrication steps required. Also, with the conventional method, the pendulum rod is not always securely immobilized and it frequently happens that the pendulum breaks free during transport to damage the clock. Another problem has been that the work of freeing the pendulum rod from the restraining member or material prior to use is troublesome.